Radio relics are extended regions of synchrotron radio emission that have been found in the outskirts of a few dozen galaxy clusters. Relics are often associated with clusters undergoing merger activity. They are not associated optically with a...

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) is a major positive regulator of the PI3K signaling pathway that regulates many important cellular functions including growth, proliferation, survival, metabolism, and angiogenesis. The PIK3CA gene, encoding the...

Visual searches for a conjunction of features (e.g., a particular combination of color and shape) are ordinarily slow and difficult. However, search efficiency for a particular conjunction can improve dramatically within a few hundred practice...

Does early and sustained experience with two languages in childhood modify how language is processed in the adult bilingual brain? Does extensive exposure to two languages influence language processing in the bilingual brain as compared to...

Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) establishes lifelong latent infections in the sensory neurons of the trigeminal ganglia (TG) wherein it retains the capacity to reactivate. The interferon (IFN)-driven antiviral response is critical for the control of...

In this thesis we develop a theory of Fourier analysis and fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) for finite inverse semigroups. Our results generalize results in the theory of Fourier analysis for finite groups. There is a general method for generating...

In closed-canopy forests, changes in the relative abundance of tree species due to major disturbance or to its absence are thought to be governed principally by differences among component species in the performance of juveniles. However, few...

Identifying and understanding sources of individual variation in fecundity is of central importance to life history theory and population ecology. In this study, I first examined how factors on the breeding grounds in eastern Maryland affected the...

This thesis introduces multiple media correlation, a new technology for the automatic alignment of multiple media objects such as text, audio, and video. This research began with the question: what can be learned when multiple multimedia components...

Eating disorders are a persistent problem for women on college campuses across the country, and peer education programs are one method that colleges have employed to address these concerns. A previous study found that peer education is actually...

Spatial heterogeneity inherent in ecological systems impacts both diversity and community structure. However, little is known about the influence of habitat heterogeneity on temporal variability in communities. I performed several studies to...

Traditionally, mast cells have been studied for their role as proinflammatory effector cells in allergic disorders. Recent findings however have opened up the discussion in the community of immunologists regarding MCs should be considered as...

The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) facilitates communication between parts of the Internet by determining paths by which data can get from one network to any other. Just as IP is used ubiquitously as an addressing scheme, BGP is used ubiquitously...

Urban and suburban development is a dominant factor driving ecological processes at local and regional scales and its impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services are alarming. Pollinators, especially bees, and the ecosystem services they...

Whi3 is a G1/S regulator and known to inhibit G1 CDK activity. It was first described as a cell-size control gene in a set of cell division cycle mutants in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Dysfunction or deletion of Whi3 leads to abnormal cell cycle...

Connecticut River; Bathing notice: Bathing in the Connecticut River, between the limits of one-fourth of a mile below the Ledyard Bridge so called, and a mile and one-fourth above said bridge, WITHOUT the use of tights, BATHING SUITS, or some other...

A yearly breast contrast-MR scan is recommended to high-risk women because of MR's high sensitivity to breast tumors. However, breast contrast-MR yields a high number of false positives that lead to expensive and sometimes unnecessary biopsy...

Continual improvements to clinical breast imaging technologies have led to ever earlier detections and increasingly accurate localizations of female breast cancers. While these advancements have certainly improved the prognoses of many patients,...

The demand for novel molecularly targeted drugs will continue to rise as we make progress toward personalizing cancer treatments to the molecular signatures of individual tumors. While the collection and analysis of genomic data has become routine,...

As the visual effect and movie industries are striving for realism and high fidelity images, physically based lighting, global illumination, realistic materials, and highly tessellated geometry are gradually accepted and used in movie and game...

Estradiol is a key regulator of immune protection in the female reproductive tract (FRT). Its concentration varies during the menstrual cycle, leading to changes in innate immune protection. In this thesis, I demonstrate the multiple levels at...

Thermodynamics, and the classic balance between entropy and enthalpy, provides a proverbial zoo of exotic phase behaviour that chemists can harness to create new materials out of simple liquids and polymers. The diversity of self-assembling...

We have a limited understanding of how an opinion is originated, how an opinion and information supporting and explaining it gets conveyed, and how the communicated opinion is perceived and processed by others. One direction of current research...

Objectives: This dissertation comprises three essays on geographic variations in healthcare, and the association between utilization and health outcomes. I first explore associations between outpatient visits and Medicare beneficiaries'...

Many organisms recognize and respond to categories: predator, prey, rival, or juvenile. Organisms recognize these ecologically-important categories by assessing diverse sensory stimuli. A primary focus of my research has been understanding how...